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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Building Double Rifles & Gunsmithing
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pappa
.224 member


Reged: 09/01/16
Posts: 26
Loc: Florida
Thinking of building a Cape gun from a 12g Stevens 311
      #278350 - 23/02/16 02:20 PM

I have been considering this for some time, but a lot of questions and some hard decisions still abound. I also have a 20g 311, but never see many and really don't want to alter it; but I realize it might be a better choice.
The 311 I am considering using evidently had the triggers/sears reworked by someone. Pull one trigger and both barrels fire. Pull the other instead first and only one fires. Couldn't see any wear, and no amount of jolting it UNLOADED will cause sear release. Anyone heard of , CAS use?,this? The gun appears as almost never used.
Wondering about backthrust and if the 12 could handle it better.
Also, idea of insert barrels has me wondering about using a surplus 7x57 barrel (7x57R better choice?) permanently silver soldered inside the 12 or 20. Might it be better to use a Savage barrel mounted to a vertical boss silver soldered in. Or would the (much more difficult?) cutting one barrel as a stub and installing rifle barrel in it work better. I know it would look better, but wonder about effect on remaining shotgun barrel, and on sighting picture when using as shotgun.
Guess I have a million questions and few answers.
Anyone done a build even remotely similar? ANY info will be greatly appreciated. I realize I could be headed down a stupid path til I have better info and clearer vision on this. Thanks, Pappa

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gungadoug
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Reged: 13/08/12
Posts: 285
Loc: NM
Re: Thinking of building a Cape gun from a 12g Stevens 311 [Re: pappa]
      #278368 - 24/02/16 02:14 AM

Pappa, many years ago I built up a couple of these using 45-70 in the rifle side. Just turned the insert barrels to fit, closely, at the muzzle and the chamber ends- in the middle reduced the dia to save weight. Brazed a piece on the extractor for the rifle side.

Accuracy was very acceptable. The tube could be rotated before cutting for the extractor to get the rifle to roughly shoot to the smoothbore POA, particularly if the muzzle is turned off by a few thousandths. A simple set screw in the very back of the chamber, where the brass section of the shot side is, will hold all in place. remember the insert barrel will recoil foreword in relation to the shot barrel surrounding it, so it won't move if turned with a rim.

As far as 7x57r, you likely will need to bush the firing pin- not likely necessary in 45-70.

Fix the trigger problem regardless!

Doug

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Birdhunter50
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Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Thinking of building a Cape gun from a 12g Stevens 311 [Re: pappa]
      #278369 - 24/02/16 02:20 AM

I would personally go with the 12 gauge, but that may be due to the fact that I have some 12 gauge rifled blanks. The 12 gauge will handle the recoil effects better and beat you up less, but it will also weigh more. If you would want to consider doing a 12 gauge with one side rifled, I can help you out on that.

You can either cut off only one side and sleeve a rifled barrel into it, or you could cut off both barrels and stub in two barrels, the only reason for doing this is because the monoblock will be easier to bore out if one barrel is not still attached. I also have some 12 gauge Beretta take off barrels that have various chokes in them, one of these could be used on the other side.

So, your choices are, a 12 gauge double with one side rifled, a 12 gauge with both sides rifled, a 12 gauge on one side, either rifled or not and a different rifle caliber on the other side. If you choose this last alternative you will have to stay with a fairly low powered rifle caliber because of the lock up on the Stevens 311,(not real strong). Yes I know they have been converted before.

The neat thing is that these rifled 12 gauge barrels came off of Savage guns, the same company that made your 311. Contact me if I can help you out. Bob

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Birdhunter50
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Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Iowa,U.S.A.
Re: Thinking of building a Cape gun from a 12g Stevens 311 [Re: pappa]
      #278373 - 24/02/16 02:47 AM

Pappa,
What gungadoug said is absolutely correct, you need to have a gunsmith look at and fix your trigger problem before going any further. A friend of mine did a 45-70 conversion on an L.C. Smith shotgun for a friend of his. The friend wanted to keep the gun sound to shoot shotgun shells in it also. So the gunsmith turned out a couple of 45-70 rifled blanks to fit inside the shotgun barrels. They were left a little long and threaded so that threaded round nuts could be screwed onto the barrels at the muzzles.

The first problem was how to regulate this beast. He turned out some round eccentric sleeves to go around the reduced barrels at the muzzles, thinking that they could be turned and index the barrels that way. The only problem with that idea was that when they went out to shoot in the gun, the barrels kept twisting due to the rifling in them and throwing everything off. They finally had to weld little ears onto the barrel liners at the breech end and cut matching divots into the shotgun barrels to match the ears so that the liners would not turn around inside the 12 gauge tubes.

They told me later that they did get it regulated, "after a fashion", but I gathered that neither one of them were entirely happy with the outcome of the project. My point is, that if you want your finished gun to be well regulated, you should do the monoblock technique and forget about barrel liners. Monoblocking is neater, quicker, weighs less, and can be regulated easier. The gun will also weigh less when finished.

Even if you reduce the diameter of the liners over most of their length, I am afraid that your gun is going to come out heavy and awkward. Much better and easier to just do it correctly from the start.
Bob

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Ron_Vella
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Reged: 29/04/05
Posts: 432
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Thinking of building a Cape gun from a 12g Stevens 311 [Re: Birdhunter50]
      #278511 - 27/02/16 01:10 PM

Pappa,
You should be aware that the 311 barrels and ribs were oven-brazed. Removing one barrel will destroy the top and bottom ribs and they will need to be replaced.

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